Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Rating Lowered by Northcoast Research

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) was downgraded by Northcoast Research from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CAKE. Barclays increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus set a $72.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $75.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.94.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE opened at $75.28 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $62.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.46. Cheesecake Factory has a 52-week low of $43.07 and a 52-week high of $76.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.04.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 43.74%. The firm had revenue of $978.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total transaction of $6,346,080.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,079,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,928,114.58. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total transaction of $161,601.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,171 shares in the company, valued at $400,497.90. This represents a 28.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,487 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 0.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 3.8% during the first quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 5,802 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

About Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) is an American restaurant company and distributor renowned for its full-service casual-dining concept and specialty cheesecakes. Headquartered in Calabasas Hills, California, the company operates more than 200 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® brand across the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. In addition to sit-down dining, Cheesecake Factory franchised locations offer catering and take-out services, while a separate manufacturing arm supplies branded cheesecakes and desserts to supermarkets, hotels and other foodservice operators.

The origins of the brand trace back to a small cheesecake bakery founded in Detroit in the 1940s.